Queen Elizabeth Hall; Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House, LondonShechter’s young dancers thrill in his hellish vision of England. Elsewhere, emerging choreographers from Brno to Birmingham showcase short works Under a smoky spotlight a group of young people assembles in approximations of school uniform, crests on their blazers, rucksacks on their backs. They look like any raggle-taggle bunch of youngsters anywhere, scruffy and relaxed. Then, as Elgar’s Nimrod soars on the soundtrack, they raise their arms in delicate attitudes, sweeping circles where the hands are at first gracefully curved, b ..read more

Royal Opera House, LondonThe Royal Ballet’s long-running and rather cumbersome Swan Lake is elevated by the dancers’ artistry, while a fine Kenneth MacMillan triple bill deserves more performances The status of Swan Lake has changed. Once it was first among equals in the traditional three-acter stakes, combining Tchaikovsky’s score with a heartbreaking story of sacrifice and love and some magnificent choreography by the 19th-century master Marius Petipa and his protege Lev Ivanov. Now it’s seen as the brand ballet, an automatic seat-filler, and hence coffers-filler. This explains its presence ..read more

Sadler’s Wells; Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House, London Johan Inger’s cool take on Bizet’s tragic heroine is given its UK premiere by English National Ballet, while LA’s Yorke Dance Project celebrates three California dance pioneers Dance isn’t good at putting strong women centre stage. There are a lot of shrinking violets, visiting princesses and doomed sylphs in ballet. That’s probably why Carmen, heroine of Mérimée’s novel and Bizet’s opera, has appealed to many choreographers. At least she has a bit of agency on the way to her untimely death. Swedish choreographer Johan Inger’s version ..read more

Sadler’s Wells, London Wayne McGregor’s DNA-themed work is an evolving delight. And back in the UK for the first time since 2008, the New Yorkers exude classy athleticism in works by Balanchine, Pam Tanowitz and more Wayne McGregor’s Autobiography (v95 and v96) is a work of sharp, stark, almost monochrome beauty that seems to carve shapes and thoughts in the air. It’s strongly structured yet built on elements of chance, classical yet contemporary, analytical yet full of mysterious feeling. It’s a pleasure to see it again, seven years after its premiere. What you are seeing is never what you or ..read more

Staatskapelle Halle/Bollon (Naxos) Four harps, a wind machine and a heckelphone feature on this little known score for an abandoned Nijinsky ballet. Ballet music is not something Richard Strauss is often remembered for, and Josephs Legende is relatively unknown. It was written to a commission from the Ballets Russes and premiered by the company in 1914 – by which time the impresario, Diaghilev, had fallen out with planned star dancer Nijinsky, and nobody else involved was very happy either. The scenario – based on the story of Joseph (of the coat of many colours) and Potiphar’s wife – had been ..read more

Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome; Queen Elizabeth Hall, London Botis Seva’s new show is so murkily atmospheric that its meaning proves elusive. Elsewhere, a compelling if mixed programme of short works from French collective (La)Horde If there is difficult second album syndrome, a similar affliction seems to be affecting the choreographer Botis Seva. Just announced as an associate artist at Sadler’s Wells, the London-born Seva is a supreme dance-maker, someone who has honed hip-hop dance into his own expressive, communicative form for his company Far from the Norm. But there has been a long gap be ..read more

Sadler’s Wells, LondonNYCB’s first UK visit in 16 years brings a quadruple bill that looks to the past briefly, but mostly presents a very 21st-century vision One of the world’s most iconic ballet companies makes its first trip to the UK in 16 years. New York City Ballet, in its 75th Anniversary season, is still much defined by the work of founder choreographer George Balanchine, but this quadruple bill shows a 21st-century version of NYCB. Balanchine gets a look in, with 1972’s Duo Concertant, but the other three works were all made in the last five years. NYCB’s resident choreographer Justin ..read more

The acclaimed dancer, director and choreographer takes on ballet’s favourite frosty Christmas show, with his Cuba-based company Acosta Danza “I want to make it snow in Havana,” said Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta as he announced a new version of ballet’s favourite frosty Christmas show The Nutcracker on Monday. Nutcracker in Havana will weave traditional Cuban rhythms and dances together with classical ballet, all set to a revised version of Tchaikovsky’s famous musical score by Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo. Having grown up in Havana under Fidel Castro, who effectively banned Christmas, Acos ..read more

Birmingham Hippodrome; Sadler’s Wells, London Carlos Acosta’s BRB revels in an expansive revival of Peter Wright’s 80s classic, while the Greek choreographer’s sensational-looking Ink tantalises and terrifies When Peter Wright first created his production of The Sleeping Beauty for the renovated Birmingham Hippodrome in 1984, it was a significant stepping stone on the way to the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet’s move to the West Midlands city, where it became the Birmingham Royal Ballet, a jewel in the crown of the council’s policy of reviving the fortunes of the city through generous support of t ..read more

Our roundup of what to watch at home includes Rambert’s prequel to the hit TV series, Jodie Comer reprising the legal drama and Roald Dahl’s The Magic Finger A doff of the cap to Rambert’s artistic director Benoit Swan Pouffer for teaming up with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and the late Benjamin Zephaniah to deliver this blistering prequel to the street gang’s saga. A hit in 2022, it brought dance to a huge new audience and heads back out on tour this autumn, but a version filmed at the Hippodrome, in the gang’s home turf Birmingham, is on BBC iPlayer ..read more